A police officer was shot and killed during a police chase in northern Israel, authorities said early Monday morning.
The slain officer, 1st Sgt. Niv Peretz, was a 29-year-old police detective at the Umm al-Fahm police station. He lived in Afula and is survived by his parents, a brother, and a sister.
Cops were chasing suspects late Sunday evening on an all-terrain vehicle near Zalafa, an Arab village southeast of Haifa, when the suspects opened fire at them, Israel Police said.
Later that night, Peretz succumbed to his wounds at a hospital. Police said they are searching for suspects.
Police Sgt. Niv Peretz, who was shot and killed during a chase in Zalafa, an Arab town near Umm al-Fahm, on September 7, 2025. (Israel Police)
The shooting came after National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose ministry runs the police, toured the northern Arab city of Umm al-Fahm on Sunday morning alongside a large contingent of police forces, aimed at encouraging police to crack down on unlawful construction.
The far-right politician’s visit to the Arab city sparked opposition from residents, some of whom hassled him as he walked the streets, flanked by security guards and Border Police officers.
Over the past week alone, 11 Arab Israelis across the country have been killed in violent criminal incidents. Arab politicians and communal leaders have accused Ben Gvir of purposeful neglect of the issue, citing the infrequency with which police solve Arab sector murders.
השר בן גביר מגיע לאום אל פחם לא כדי לסייע אלא כדי לזרוע הרס, פירוד ושנאה. מניעיו פוליטיים וציניים- ליצור כותרות על חשבון חיי תושבים שוחרי חיים ושוויון. אנו דוחים בשאט נפש ניסיונות שכאלה. עיריית אום אל פחם תמשיך לפעול לבנייה ולשיפור איכות החיים בעיר. pic.twitter.com/SYl3Ncj5bN
— ד״ר סמיר מחאמיד Dr. Samir mahamid (@SamirMhamid) September 7, 2025
“You destroyed this country, you destroyed it all,” one bystander could be heard saying in a video online. “We follow the law better than you do.”
“We are the landlords here,” the bystander continued, repurposing Ben Gvir’s well-known campaign slogan in the 2022 elections, seen by many as explicitly antagonistic toward Arabs. He accused the minister of neglecting the spiraling murder rate in Arab towns throughout Israel, saying, “When Arabs are killed, it doesn’t bother you.”
Ben Gvir bickered with some of the residents, remarking to a man, “You aren’t used to seeing police?” to which the resident replied: “My father was a police officer.”
In a statement from his office, Ben Gvir said the tour was coordinated with police, Border Police and Israel Land Authority officials.
“After three decades of neglect and lawlessness, finally we are acting and enforcing, in the Negev, in Umm al-Fahm and everywhere,” he claimed in a statement. “I am impressed with the work of the forces and expect as much action as possible against construction offenders. Governance and sovereignty begin here.”
The city’s Mayor Samir Mahamid came out strongly against Ben Gvir’s visit, which was said not to have been coordinated with local officials. Mahamid accused him of coming to Umm al-Fahm in order to “sow destruction, division and hatred” and claimed the visit is a cynical publicity stunt aimed at “creating headlines” at the expense of the city’s residents.
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